Artist's Statement:

I specialize in painting marine life in watercolor using my own photographs and memories. I scuba dive and take underwater photos, which I use as subject matter for my paintings. Being a nature lover in general, I also paint flowers, gardens, animals and a few landscapes as well. I have been painting primarily in watercolor for over 30 years, but I also occasionally work in oils, acrylics and pastels. I also like to combine the mediums of painting and photography to create mixed media prints with Polaroid film.

To see below the ocean's surface and witness the beauty of life on a coral reef is something not everyone is able to experience, and I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity. The world's coral reefs are in trouble and they might be gone someday if we don't take care of our oceans. Through my paintings and photographs, I want to show the beauty of coral reefs and their inhabitants to the world in hope that they will be protected and preserved for future generations.

Biography:

I was born in 1949 in Port Arthur, Texas. Growing up on the Texas coast, I spent a lot of time at the beach and fishing with my Dad, and grew to love the ocean and seashore. I graduated in 1972 from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Fine Art. In 1973, I moved to Austin, and took a job with the State of Texas, where I received training in cartography (mapmaking). I spend the next 15 years drawing maps, and another 15 years in management and sales of digital maps and software (geographic information systems).

To supplement my income in the early days of my career as a cartographer, I spent evenings and weekends doing freelance graphic design for local businesses, including the fledgling Austin music industry. I had the opportunity to create and publish music posters for local venues, including Willie Nelson’s Austin Opry House. Several of my posters are now in the permanent collection of the University of Texas Center for American History in Austin.

During my years as a graphic designer and cartographer, I spent my time on weekends painting watercolors, and joined Austin's Waterloo Watercolor Group. My work earned several awards at the Group's annual exhibitions, and traveled to national shows, including the National Watercolor Society Annual Exhibition, and the American Realism Exhibition.

In 1983, I married Julian "Kent" Jacobson, and we spent our honeymoon in Cozumel, Mexico where I had my first opportunity to snorkel and observe the colorful marine life of a tropical coral reef. I fell in love with the ocean all over again, and Kent and I began to travel to tropical places every chance we got. We received our scuba certification in 1994, and I immediately began photographing marine life.

I have taken thousands of photos of marine life which provide endless inspiration for my paintings. I have had both my underwater and topside images published in travel guides, calendars, brochures, and as fine art prints in both corporate and private collections. My most popular underwater photos are available on this website as fine art prints on paper and canvas. I also market my photographic images as stock photography for business use, and have created two websites for that purpose: www.cdislands.com (35mm film photography) and www.tropicalpictures.net (digital photography).

In 1998, Kent and I bought a small "fixer upper" home on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. After much toil and sweat, we have transformed it into our little dream home by the sea, and we hope to live there full time someday. Meanwhile we divide our time between our St. John House, Blue Heaven Rendezvous and our home on 7th Street in Austin. In 2001, I left my full-time job as a high-tech marketing executive to start a new career in fine art.

Kent and I participate in frequent dive expeditions to study and photograph marine life, and a percentage of my sales are donated to coral reef conservation organizations.

All works on this web site © Pauline Walsh Jacobson. All rights reserved worldwide, unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.